Africa-Press – South-Africa. The government has classified foodborne illnesses as a national disaster in terms of section 23 of the Disaster Management Act.
The classification encourages individuals to comply with applicable business registration legislation, standards and procedures and recommends that the national executive, provincial executives and municipal councils implement a multisectoral relief and rehabilitation plan to deal with the effects of the disaster, among other measures.
On Thursday ministers leading the multidisciplinary teams in government responsible for the national response to foodborne illnesses outlined the government’s action plan to manage the problem.
Justice minister Thembi Simelane said the appointment of health experts to serve on the ministerial advisory committee is nearing completion, with the team set to be announced in the coming days.
She said the committee will develop medium- to long-term prevention measures to prevent foodborne illnesses in the country.
The directive to urgently report deaths of patients aged 12 and under will be swiftly implemented, she said.
“This will help us to understand the burden of disease and the population at risk in real-time instead of waiting for a long period of time.
“The department of health is currently amending the Notifiable Medical Conditions Regulations such that the death of anybody 12 years and younger becomes notifiable. The regulations may be published based on the state of disaster being declared by the minister of Cogta [co-operative governance and traditional affairs],” she said.
Simelane said the shortage of environmental health inspectors is being urgently addressed, with efforts under way to equip all districts and metropolitan municipalities with the necessary resources to effectively carry out inspections nationwide.
The establishment of the R500m joint fund to support townships and rural businesses, including community convenience shops, is already under way.
She said departments responsible for the joint fund are working on the guidelines and standard operating procedures on use and accountability of the fund, which will be completed in the next two weeks.
“Approved rural and township businesses will be supported through this fund to improve their infrastructure, regulatory compliance and capacity building. The operational fund application and disbursement process will commence as soon as the registration process is completed and will be subjected to ongoing auditing processes as an early warning system against potential anomalies and fraudulent activities.”
The qualifying criteria stipulate that the business owner must be a South African citizen, operating within the country and serving local communities.
“The business must be registered with the local municipality in accordance with the relevant bylaws and have valid registration with Sars. Funding will prioritise entrepreneurs between the ages of 18 and 35 years with much emphasis on female-owned businesses.”
Simelane was concerned about allegations that some South Africans are assisting illegal foreigners to fraudulently comply with the requirements for businesses registration.
“This is clear fronting and we would like to warn everyone who is involved in this illegal activity to stop. The Immigration Act prohibits any person from aiding, abetting, assisting or enabling an illegal foreigner to obtain a licence on his or her behalf, to conduct any business or carry on any profession or occupation.”
Landlords are obliged by law to ensure that those who rent their premises to conduct businesses comply with the provisions of the Immigration Act and the standard bylaws regulating local business in the municipalities in which they operate, she said.
Simelane warned that law enforcement agencies will clamp down heavily on extortionists who try to use the registration process to enrich themselves.
“Lawful joint inspections are ongoing across the country, led by multidisciplinary teams comprising of experts and officials from various government departments, state bodies and law enforcement agencies.”
These inspections include the food value chain — from manufacturing, wholesale and transport, and the retail sector — to monitor and enforce norms and standards for food safety.
Highlighting some of the successes, Simelane said more than 26 spaza shops have been closed in the Northern Cape due to several reasons, including noncompliance, operating without valid licences and poor hygiene practices.
However, she said the immediate concern was the delay in the release of the laboratory test results.
“In this regard, an amount of R15m has been allocated towards rapid testing of suspected contaminated food products as part of efforts to improve the turnaround time of laboratory test results.”
Simelane said in the next few days, the department of agriculture would conduct inspections at all five registered manufacturers of Terbufos to ascertain controls and determine if markers are put into locally produced products to distinguish between illegally imported and locally produced chemicals.
The department is also expected to strengthen biosecurity efforts, to support the control of the entry of products, organisms and other harmful biological products at ports of entry.
A process involving the department of basic education, health and school governing bodies to review and update guidelines on the management of suppliers of foodstuffs to state schools has commenced, she said. Work will be completed by the beginning of the new school year.
“It is important to note that most of the incidents relating to foodborne illnesses have not emanated from the National School Nutrition Programme [NSNP]. DBE [the department of basic education] will work hard to insulate the NSNP,” she said.
Simelane urged communities not to consume products dumped in landfill sites and open spaces as they could compromise their health.
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